Switzerland is more than chocolates and cheese (a darTZeel factory tour)
- Thread starter AudioExplorations
- Start date
Glad to see they do make a black model. Much better looking!
Making a $12k Integraded with DAC..... just like Playback Designs..... coincidence? Uses the EA speakers too!.... hmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Making a $12k Integraded with DAC..... just like Playback Designs..... coincidence? Uses the EA speakers too!.... hmmmmmmmmmmmm...
I'm on the other pole. This is one piece of gear I would never buy based on aesthetics (along with the champagne colored Marantz stuff the McIntosh retro look). Just give me a boring black box with industrial look. The cutesy design of my MSB DAC is about as much as I can stomach, but only barely.
-1
I wish the gold Marantz stuff was available here, I love it, and I do like the McIntosh look. I could give up some of the fancy D'Agostino treatments though.
Last edited:
The only complaint that I have is he should have saved the money on all that bling and passed the savings on to the consumer.
I personally like the design , it s well made stuff as well , from how many colours can customers choose from , i reckon black /gold also looks great .
I still never heard it yet
I still never heard it yet
No mention of the anticipated smaller mono's in the article. Looks like the integrated/DAC, standalone DAC and preamp update are next in line...
Hahaha It's funny how opinions vary!
I love the darTZeel look, it's even more impressive in person, once you see the build quality.
The MSB, on the other hand, are ugly
But does the job, and it's small, so I'm not complaining, but it's ugly, and the heatsink fins on the side have to go...
I do agree with Bruce that the cost overhead on having the monobloc casing done in that level of precision/quality adds significantly to the cost. But as Hervé explained to me, when he designed them, he was answering his dealer's wish for "the best". So he spared no expense, even in the casing. That's why I have high hopes for a smaller monobloc, since he could just downsize things a bit, have a simpler case, and produce something substantially cheaper.
After the preamp mk2, comes the 108 mk2. Then, hopefully, the smaller monoblocs.
alexandre
I love the darTZeel look, it's even more impressive in person, once you see the build quality.
The MSB, on the other hand, are ugly
But does the job, and it's small, so I'm not complaining, but it's ugly, and the heatsink fins on the side have to go...I do agree with Bruce that the cost overhead on having the monobloc casing done in that level of precision/quality adds significantly to the cost. But as Hervé explained to me, when he designed them, he was answering his dealer's wish for "the best". So he spared no expense, even in the casing. That's why I have high hopes for a smaller monobloc, since he could just downsize things a bit, have a simpler case, and produce something substantially cheaper.
After the preamp mk2, comes the 108 mk2. Then, hopefully, the smaller monoblocs.
alexandre
For the record, I love the look. The price, not so much, but I'm led to believe there may be a relationship that holds between the two.
Hopefully, Norman will find his way through a few more of these tours for us!!! But I do believe he's going to head out for another round with darTZEEL in a couple of weeks -- I'll forward some of your questions on and have them addressed directly, if you'd like.
Hopefully, Norman will find his way through a few more of these tours for us!!! But I do believe he's going to head out for another round with darTZEEL in a couple of weeks -- I'll forward some of your questions on and have them addressed directly, if you'd like.
Any idea if the preamp mk2 will be an upgrade option for preamp mk1 users? Or complete new design/faceplate/casing?
This is something I'm really interested in as well as I'm leaning towards a used pair of the current pre- and stereo power amps.
As far as I understand, all current gear can be upgraded to Mk.2 status. I would not doubt if the upgrades are 1 or 2 years away.
As soon as the hot summer ends and I can return to tube amplifiers I will put my mint latest version NH108b on sale.
OK, sounds promising. I would really like to get this confirmed by darTZeel. If Mk.2-versions are on the way, I believe this to be the first time that they'll make an "official upgrade". As I understand it, they've done modifications along the way, which means that a NHB-108 from 2007 will differ from the same unit manufactured in 2012. Correct?
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |